The canonisation of the assassinated archbishop will take place on Sunday in Rome Oscar Romero, the Salvadoran priest who championed social justice for the poor and dispossessed, will be proclaimed a saint by Pope Francis in a canonisation ceremony in Rome on Sunday, almost four decades after he was assassinated by a rightwing death squad. The former archbishop of San Salvador, who was closely associated with the Latin American liberation theology movement of the 1960s and 70s, will be canonised along with six others at the ceremony in St Peters…

Juan Carlos Cruz, who was sexually abused, says pontiff told him God did not mind that he was gay A survivor of clerical sexual abuse has said Pope Francis told him that God had made him gay and loved him, in arguably the most strikingly accepting comments about homosexuality to be uttered by the leader of the Roman Catholic church. Juan Carlos Cruz, who spoke privately with the pope two weeks ago about the abuse he suffered at the hands of one of Chiles most notorious paedophiles, said the issue…

Graham Caveneys defiant, important memoir details how the Catholic establishment fails abuse victims Pope Francis has taken great strides in challenging all sorts of entrenched attitudes and prejudices in the Vatican that have given the Catholic church such a bad name of late. Progress has been disappointingly slow, however, on the commission he appointed in 2014 to tackle the appalling scandal of clerical sexual abuse. In March of this year bookshop.theguardian.com or call 0330 333 6846. Free UK p&p over 10, online orders only. Phone orders min p&p of 1.99…

Australias most senior Catholic cleric appears at Melbourne magistrates court for first hearing Cardinal George Pell has appeared in the Melbourne magistrates court charged with multiple historical sexual abuse offences. Seated behind his lawyer, Robert Richter, QC, dressed in a simple black suit and clerical collar, Pell did not speak throughout the six-minute filing hearing. Richter said that while Pell was not required to enter a plea unless and until the matter was committed for trial, he would, because of the media and public interest in the case, indicate a…

Unleavened bread used for communion during Catholic masses can be genetically modified but not entirely gluten-free, church rules The unleavened bread used to celebrate the holy communion during Catholic masses can be made with genetically modified organisms, the Vatican said Saturday, but they cannot be entirely gluten-free. Low-gluten bread is allowed but there must be enough protein in the wheat to make it without additives. Cardinal Robert Sarah of the Vaticans Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments said the guidance was needed now that Eucharistic bread…

Pell says he will return to Australia to clear his name after being charged Move against third-ranking official in Vatican sends shockwaves around church Cardinal George Pell, Australias most senior Catholic and the third-ranking official in the Vatican, has been charged with multiple sexual offences by police. The charges were served on Pells legal representatives in Melbourne on Thursday and they have been lodged also at Melbourne magistrates court. He will appear at the court on 18 July. Cardinal Pell is facing multiple charges and there are multiple complainants, Victoria…